Biotech and Pharmaceuticals Medicine

*Merck needs development funding just as profit seen slipping. FRANKFURT, April 20- Merck KGaA will seek development partners for experimental treatments including tepotinib as the German company looks to licensing deals to help fund clinical trials, according to its head of drug R&D. Luciano Rossetti, its drug research and development chief, told Reuters the...

*Safety data supports 2 mg dose but not 4 mg dose- FDA staff. *FDA staff internal review could be positive for rivals- analyst. April 19- An experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co and Incyte Corp poses serious risks of deadly blood clots at higher doses, U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff said on Thursday, the latest setback to a...

April 19- U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff flagged concerns on Thursday about potentially fatal blood clots from higher doses of a rheumatoid arthritis drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co and Incyte Corp, a fresh setback after regulators declined to approve the treatment last year. The FDA last April declined to approve the drug, baricitinib, in a move that...

April 19- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff on Thursday flagged concerns about potentially fatal blood clots from higher doses of Eli Lilly and Co and Incyte Corp's rheumatoid arthritis drug.

April 18- A California agency said on Wednesday it has initiated an open inspection on Tesla Inc for occupational safety but did not disclose further details. Erika Monterroza, spokesperson for California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said Cal/ OSHA's inspections typically include a review of the employer's Log 300. A Log 300 is an account of...

PROVIDENCE, R.I.— Brown University's brain science institute has been given $100 million to advance the understanding of the brain and what causes Lou Gehrig's Disease, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. The Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, announced the donation from alumnus Robert Carney and his wife, Nancy, on Wednesday.

COPENHAGEN, April 18- Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and aid agency Red Cross have teamed up to try to improve the treatment of chronic diseases among the millions affected by conflicts and humanitarian crises in countries such as Syria and Yemen. "If you look at Yemen, Syria, Iraq and beyond, thousands will remain with life-threatening illnesses if they are not...

*Piper Jaffray analysts had forecast sales of $336 mln in 2022. April 17- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first treatment for a rare and inherited form of rickets, which is made by Ultragenyx, sending the company's shares up as much as 7.6 percent. Last month, Piper Jaffray analysts said in a note that they expected peak sales of $336...

April 17- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc's treatment for a rare and inherited form of rickets, a condition that causes weak bones, the agency said https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm604810. htm on Tuesday. California- based Ultragenyx's shares rose 4.6 percent to $56.31 in...

LONDON, April 17- General Electric is raising its bet on biotechnology with the launch of prefabricated manufacturing units for producing virus-based gene and cell therapies, novel anti-cancer treatments and vaccines. Interest in such medicines, which use engineered viruses to carry healthy genetic material into the cells of sick people, has exploded...

Another study found that an immunotherapy combo— the Bristol-Myers Squibb drugs Opdivo and Yervoy— worked better than chemo for delaying the time until cancer worsened in advanced lung cancer patients whose tumors have many gene flaws, as nearly half do. Roy Herbst, a Yale Cancer Center lung expert who had no role in the studies. Results were discussed Monday at...

BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB IMMUNOTHERAPY COMBO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES PROGRESSION-FREE SURVIVAL VS CHEMO IN FIRST- LINE LUNG CANCER.

April 16- Bristol-Myers Squibb said on Monday its cancer drugs, Opdivo and Yervoy, reduced the risk of the disease spreading or death in previously untreated patients with a type of lung cancer. The combination demonstrated a higher rate of progression-free survival, compared with chemotherapy in a late-stage trial, the company said. The results come a week...

LONDON, April 16- Shire, the London- listed pharmaceutical company which specialises in rare diseases, said on Monday it was selling its oncology business to French drug maker Servier for $2.4 billion.

*GSK divests drugs in exchange for 19.9 pct Orchard stake. LONDON, April 12- GlaxoSmithKline is divesting its rare disease gene therapy drugs to private biotech company Orchard Therapeutics as Chief Executive Emma Walmsley makes good on her promise to prune the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals portfolio. Financially, the transaction will not move the dial for...

LONDON, April 12- GlaxoSmithKline is divesting its rare disease gene therapy drugs to Orchard Therapeutics, it said on Thursday, as Chief Executive Emma Walmsley makes good on her promise to prune the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals portfolio. Financially, the transaction will not move the dial for Britain's biggest drugmaker, but it offers a sign that Walmsley...

LONDON, April 12- GlaxoSmithKline said on Thursday is was transferring its rare disease gene therapy drugs to Orchard Therapeutics as Chief Executive Emma Walmsley makes good on her promise to prune the drugmaker's pharmaceuticals portfolio. Under the deal, GSK will receive a 19.9 percent stake in unlisted Orchard and get a seat on its board.

The device, called IDx-DR and produced by Iowa- based IDx LLC, is the first to receive Food and Drug Administration authorization that provides a screening decision without need for a clinician to also interpret the image or results. It was reviewed under new FDA regulations designed to speed to market some devices seen as low- to moderate-risk and for which...